Friends of a St. Paul woman recently shot to death have set up a memorial fund to benefit her toddler son.

In announcing the fund Tuesday, Jan. 15, Manya Twite Johnson's friends called her "warm and caring ... filled with love and hope."

On Jan. 6, after Johnson, 32, told her husband she planned to leave him and take their son with her, Steven Roger Johnson shot her in the head and dismembered her body in their home near Lake Como, according to murder charges filed last week. Steven Johnson, 32, is accused of leaving his wife's body in the White Bear Lake garage of a man he knew. Police found her body the next day and arrested Steven Johnson.

The fund is to "celebrate her life and assist the family with the care of her 17-month-old son, Oliver," said a statement from her friends.

"No one can ever replace his mother but we can join together as a community to support Oliver by providing resources for his education and other future needs," said the website for the memorial fund.

Oliver's day care teachers describe him as the child who "lights up the room," the website said. "He has stolen all of our hearts. He deserves love, peace and hope."

Manya Johnson graduated in 1998 from Triton High School in Dodge Center, Minn. She attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., where she played volleyball and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. Johnson graduated from Bethel University with a master's degree in counseling psychology.

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She worked in marketing operations for Target, "where co-workers said she was witty, outgoing and an outstanding worker," according to the statement from her friends.

In addition to her parents and son, Johnson is survived by four siblings.

Her parents are taking care of Oliver, a family friend said.

Donations can be sent to the Manya Memorial Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, 670 McKnight Road N., St. Paul, MN 55119. They can also be made at manyamemorialfund.com.